


Enhanced Physical Education

by onemechanicalalligator



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Alternative Perspective, Canon Autistic Character, Canon Compliant (at least as far as the end of the episode), Episode Related, Episode: s01e17 Physical Education, Gen, M/M, Slut Abed Rights
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:21:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26000308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onemechanicalalligator/pseuds/onemechanicalalligator
Summary: "Physical Education" written from Troy and Abed's perspectives.
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Abed Nadir
Comments: 36
Kudos: 288





	Enhanced Physical Education

When Shirley first brings up the drawings in Troy’s textbook, Abed wonders if Troy _did_ draw them. He tries not to be too disappointed when he finds out that Troy didn’t. That it’s a used book. 

And he thinks he probably shouldn’t be surprised that his friends automatically assume he’s a virgin who doesn’t know how to talk to girls. He does kind of give off that vibe, and he definitely doesn’t talk to the group about the people he sleeps with, the way Jeff and Pierce often do. For a second he thinks about correcting them when they come to this conclusion, but the truth is, they seem really happy to have a project, and he’s willing to be that project in order to make them happy. 

The only one who’s not having it is Jeff, and Abed knows why. It’s because of what started that time when Jeff was staying in Abed’s dorm room for a few days, and he accidentally walked in on Abed and Pavel in the bottom bunk. And later when Pavel was gone and Abed was dressed, Jeff asked Abed if that was a regular occurrence, if he _did that_ often, and Abed told him most of the truth: _Yeah, kind of. I like having sex, and people like having sex with me._

And Jeff must have taken that to heart, because a few weeks after getting his own place, he invited Abed over to see it, and he asked if they could talk, and one thing led to another, and the next morning they woke up tangled together in Jeff’s Egyptian cotton sheets. It surprisingly wasn’t awkward after, though, and they didn’t really talk about it much, but they didn’t purposefully _not_ talk about it, either. They treated it like what it was: fun, casual, and just once.

Abed is pretty sure Jeff won’t say anything about it, since he hasn’t up until this point. And he's right; Jeff doesn’t. He just tells their friends to stay out of Abed’s business, and Abed appreciates that very much, even though it doesn’t work. He figures this will keep things interesting, at any rate, so he just stays quiet as the group discusses his potential, and his shortcomings, and as they assume he won’t notice when Annie almost says “autism" as she’s comparing this situation to _The Notebook._ (And he’s not sure why Shirley shuts her down, anyway, because he _is_ autistic, not that he’s ever discussed it with any of them, and it’s not like it’s a bad word).

Things get more complicated when they’re in Spanish class and Señor Chang figures out that the textbook belonged to Jenny Adams. Now his friends want to set them up, except Abed already knows Jenny Adams. Has already slept with Jenny Adams, in fact. Not only that, he knows she has a boyfriend, and he knows this because Abed didn't _just_ sleep with Jenny that time. 

His friends ask him if he’s going to approach her, and he says no, and he gets a lecture about how opportunities like this only come once, and he thinks about saying, _I already made Jenny come at least twice,_ but he thinks better of it. Pierce gives him a lecture about college experiences and steamy pillow fights, and Abed tries to make his face look intrigued, as if he’s never turned a pillow fight into foreplay before. Finally, he manages to change the subject over to movies, which feels much more comfortable.

He discreetly pulls out the little notebook where he keeps the phone numbers of everyone he hooks up with (so he can’t accidentally butt dial or text the wrong person), and he types Jenny’s number into his phone to send a message: _If I approach you later today and pretend to ask you out, can you pretend you don’t know me? I know it’s weird. I can explain later._

She texts back: _Sure, I guess? Joey might not like it though. I’ll warn him._ Abed types back a quick thank you, and adds: _Tell him if he’s around he can get mad at me for trying to steal his girl_ , and he’s so busy looking at his phone that he forgets to put the little notebook full of phone numbers back into his bag as he leaves.

* * *

Troy sees Abed leave a notebook behind when they leave the classroom, so he runs back and grabs it. He knows it would be wrong to open it, and he puts it in his pocket and starts walking, and he's taken about three steps before curiosity gets the better of him and he opens it up to a random page. It's full of Abed's handwriting:

 **_Pavel_ ** _\- black hair (Polish) (so sweet) - 555-3453_ _  
_**_Meghan_ ** _\- blonde (mean girl) (dom energy) - 555-7846_ _  
_**_Karl_ ** _\- blond (German) (surprisingly gentle) - 555-4984_ _  
_**_Tracy_ ** _\- blonde/tall (mean girl) (very loud) - 555-8486_ _  
_**_Lukka_ ** _\- brown hair (Balkans) (very rough) - 555-8855_ _  
_**_Jen_ ** _\- brown hair (mean girl) (unremarkable) - 555-1863_ _  
_**_Neil_ ** _\- brown hair (DnD) (likes roleplay) - 555-3243_ _  
_**_Joey_ ** _\- brown hair (weird looking) (very intense) - 555-4122_ _  
_**_Jenny_ ** _\- blonde (likes Jane Austen) (screamer) - 555-7883_

At first he doesn’t know what he’s looking at. He recognizes a few of the names, and he’s surprised that Abed has so many friends, because he kind of figured the study group was it, the way it is for him and seems to be for the others. They all hang out together and that’s enough. 

Then he looks closer, sees the comments Abed has written next to each name and phone number. He guesses maybe the hair colors are to help him remember who’s who, like maybe it has to do with how he has a hard time reading faces? And the rest of the comments he just skims over, and they don’t really seem to make any sense. He pockets the notebook and heads off to find the others. He’ll just ask Abed about it when he finds him.

Troy finds him in the cafeteria talking to some guy Troy doesn’t recognize. He sees Abed hand him what looks like an article of clothing, and he puts it in his backpack. When Troy approaches, the mysterious guy turns and walks away.

Troy sits down next to Abed and hands the notebook to him. 

“You dropped this,” he says. 

“Thanks,” Abed replies, and slips it in his messenger bag. 

Before Troy can ask about the guy or the notebook, the rest of the group minus Jeff arrives and crowds around the little table. Annie points out Jenny Adams, and Troy happens to be staring right at Abed as she does, and the strangest look crosses over Abed’s face. Troy can’t figure out quite what it is, but it’s definitely more than just nervousness or curiosity.

* * *

They want him to go talk to Jenny, and he tries to explain that that’s not a thing he would do, and he doesn’t try to explain that it’s not really his style to hook up a second time with someone, and if he did, he would text them long before he would approach them in person. Finally, he agrees to go over as a different version of himself, because if he’s going to do this, he’s going to have fun with it. 

He begins to hiss and splay out his hands as he walks over, sticking out his tongue and wondering what his friends will do. It’s only a few seconds before Annie and Britta come and grab him and redirect him to the table. He describes this version of himself as a vampire, because why not?

They ask for him to excuse them for a moment, and it’s like they think he can’t hear everything they’re saying, even though he’s standing directly behind them. When Britta flat out says that he is going to die alone if he acts like himself, he decides to get back at her by heading toward Jenny’s seat again as the vampire version of himself, this time with his arms up in the air. 

And this time Troy is the one who comes for him, lifting him gracefully like a ballerina, and Abed likes it. He wishes today could be more about Troy touching him and less about his friends insulting him and trying to set him up with Jenny. 

* * *

Troy carries Abed all the way to the empty room where the group sometimes meets for Urgent Business, and on the way, two girls and a guy all wave to Abed, and he greets them by name. 

“Who's that?” Troy asks about each one.

Abed gives surprisingly detailed answers: 

“Oh, that’s Erin, she lives in the dorms and has three pet rats and doesn’t like to eat breakfast.”

“Mark is from California. He plays the bass clarinet and is weirdly flexible.”

“Her name is Amanda, she’s a vegetarian. She studies biology and can get very emotional.”

Troy wonders how he never realized that Abed had all these other friends. He wonders how Abed knows how flexible Mark is. He wonders what Abed does on the nights that they don’t hang out together and stay up late watching _Kickpuncher_ movies or playing video games, if he does those things with his other friends.

Thinking about Abed hanging out with other friends makes his stomach feel funny, like he doesn’t want to share, like Abed is _his._ He knows that’s crazy, that he doesn’t _own_ Abed, and Abed is allowed to have as many friends as he wants. But even just thinking about it makes Troy miss Abed, even though he’s literally carrying him through the hallway right now.

And it’s nice to carry Abed, he’s light and graceful and Troy likes the feel of his bones, the warmth of his skin under his hands. He likes touching Abed, and Abed seems not to mind it so much, and that’s nice, too. Troy has never had a friend like Abed before. He’s never felt this way about a friend before. He’s never felt this way before.

* * *

The rest of the group (except Jeff) meets them in the empty room, and Annie tells Abed she knows he wouldn’t normally approach a girl -- and she's not entirely wrong. Abed isn’t great at reading faces or body language, so he generally lets girls and guys come onto _him._ Then Pierce insults him, which is nothing new, and Abed clarifies that what his friends want is for him to change into someone more likable. They try to reframe it in a way that makes them look better, and it doesn’t work, at least not in Abed’s opinion. 

When Pierce implies that he will be a half-Polish, half-Arab virgin in his 30s, Abed wants to ask how many people Pierce has slept with in the last month. He doesn’t, because he doesn’t really want to know, and anyway, he’s positive that his number is higher. Abed also wants to tell him he lost his virginity years ago, before he was even in his 20s. He doesn’t, because that’s no one’s business but his own. He wants to ask Pierce to get out of his face. He doesn’t have to, because he turns around and Troy approaches instead.

Troy tries to coach him, and Troy is Abed’s best friend, and Abed doesn’t understand why Troy is a part of this whole plot at all, especially after finding his notebook full of phone numbers this morning. He knows Troy well enough to know that there’s no way he didn’t look at it. Combined with the fact that a few minutes ago he walked up while Abed was returning Keith’s shirt that he left in his dorm, he’s almost impressed that Troy is still apparently oblivious. And also kind of glad.

He decides to do Don Draper to practice seducing Annie, and he fully commits, prepared to kiss her if he has to. Shirley stops him before it gets that far, but Abed is pleased to see that Annie _and Troy_ both seem to have reacted positively to his performance. Don Draper is one of his favorites to roleplay in bed, embracing the persona of someone who expresses his confidence in a much different way than Abed does.

Jeff comes in and yells at the group, and Abed likes that, the way Jeff stands up for him. He does an impression of Jeff because he thinks the group will like it, and they do, and they tell him that’s who needs to go talk to Jenny. Jeff seems to be having some sort of crisis involving shorts and pool, and Abed decides it’s probably best not to ask.

Jenny is in the student lounge, and everyone watches as Abed approaches her. They’re all behind him, so he mouths _thank you_ at her as he walks up. Then he does his best Jeff impression, and she makes a joke about feeling like she’s seen him before. He acts as if he’s going to kiss her, watching to make sure he doesn’t cross any lines, but then Joey shows up and threatens to punch him, calling him ugly, and it’s _perfect,_ and Abed needs to remind himself to thank Joey later.

* * *

Troy rescues Abed from White Abed, and Abed seems genuinely baffled when Troy calls him that.

“You mean Joey?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Troy replies. “He looks like a white version of you.”

“I don’t see it,” Abed says, shrugging.

Troy walks Abed back to his dorm, because they’re done with classes for the day, and they already had plans to hang out in the afternoon. When they get to the room, Abed sends a few text messages, and while he’s doing that Troy goes over to the couch to sit down, and in between the side of the couch and the cushion is a piece of fabric. Troy pulls it out, and it’s a pair of underwear. _Women’s underwear._

He drops them like they’re on fire, and then his head snaps towards Abed, but he’s still staring at his phone and doesn’t notice. Troy considers shoving them back in the couch and pretending this never happened, but it’s been a weird day and he really does want to talk to Abed about it. So he leaves them where they are, and he waits for Abed to finish texting and come back.

“So, uh, I found these in your couch,” Troy says bluntly, nodding down at the panties when Abed finally comes and sits down.

“Oh,” Abed says, no flicker of expression on his face. “Cool. Thanks for letting me know.”

Troy stares at him.

“They’re not mine,” Abed adds. “Is that what you’re wondering?”

“I...what? No, Abed, I don’t think they’re yours. I want to know whose they are.”

“A girl’s, I’m assuming,” Abed says, and pauses, tilting his head. “I’m pretty sure I know which girl, actually.”

“Do you have _girls_ over to your dorm?” Troy asks, trying not to sound hysterical.

“Yeah,” Abed replies. “Boys, too.”

“But, I mean, like...do you _sleep with girls_ in your dorm?”

 _“Yeah,”_ Abed repeats. _“Boys, too._ I just told you.”

Troy’s brain is wrinkling, and he’s not sure how to process the information that Abed is giving him right now.

“But what about Jenny Adams?!” he cries. 

“I actually hooked up with her a month or so ago,” Abed admits. “Joey was there, too.”

_“You hooked up with White Abed?”_

“Well, I just knew him as Joey, but...yes.” Abed is completely calm, and it’s making Troy feel even more insane than he already did.

“But what about the group? What about everything we did today?”

“They wanted me to be their project,” Abed says. “And I wanted them to be happy. So I went along with it.” He shrugs. 

“You let all of us think you didn’t know how to get girls,” Troy says.

“Well, they wouldn’t be able to _turn me into_ someone who can get a date if they knew I already _was_ someone who can get a date,” Abed explains. “So I just let them believe what they needed to believe.”

“And that notebook I found? Are those all people you’ve…”

“Slept with?” Abed supplies. “Yup.”

“Okay,” Troy says. “Okay. I just, uh...need a second to process this.”

“Take your time,” Abed says. He drops the underwear into a plastic bag and walks to the door. “I’ll be right back.”

When Abed returns, empty handed, Troy has calmed down considerably.

“Are you going to tell the group the truth?” he asks.

“No,” Abed replies. “Too much drama. And I don’t really feel like _everyone_ in our study group needs to know about my sex life. So...can you keep it a secret?”

“I think so,” Troy says.

“Can you promise?” Abed asks. “Please?”

“Yeah, I promise.”

“Cool. Cool cool cool.”

The next morning before Abed arrives, the group worries that his heart is broken, and Jeff says _I told you so,_ and Troy doesn’t say a thing.

* * *

When Abed gets to study group the next day, he’s concerned that his friends will be upset that he didn’t manage to get a girlfriend, and he prepares himself for their disappointment. But they tell him they just want him to be happy, and he explains to them that everyone wants that, that everyone wants to help him, and when they can’t, they usually just use him or leave him, and that’s why he wanted them to feel like they _could._

He does mention that girls tend to approach _him,_ which is true, and he leaves out the part where guys do too, because he’s kind of ready for this whole thing to be over, and introducing a new variable doesn’t seem like a great way to do that. He makes it clear that his self-esteem is fine, and that’s why he didn’t mind them trying to change him, and then Annie makes her Disney face, so he must have said the right thing.

Jeff calls him a god, and Abed thinks it’s probably because Jeff doesn’t have much self-esteem at all, so Abed’s looks to him like a superpower. And somehow that’s enough to inspire Jeff to go play a game of pool wearing shorts, and everyone else decides to watch, and Abed likes today’s plot _much_ better than yesterday’s.

They grab breakfast and then make their way to the pool table, and it looks like a good game so far. No one seems able to keep their eyes off of Jeff in those shorts, which Abed thinks is fair. He’s certainly not looking away, and when Jeff points at him, he shoots a thumbs up. 

The game takes a turn towards the bizarre when both players start stripping, playing a good chunk of the game clad only in their briefs, and Abed wonders how far they’re going to take this. _All the way_ turns out to be the answer -- it’s not a _great_ moment when both of them shout loudly and then tear off their underwear, resulting in two grown men shooting pool in a community college lounge, stark naked. And yet, Abed finds himself captivated, invested in the outcome of the game.

Abed vaguely notices that everyone looks away when Jeff puts his leg up on the table. Abed doesn’t. It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.

Jeff wins.

Afterwards, he and Troy start up their own game of pool, and a few minutes into it a girl approaches him and introduces herself as Courtney. They shake hands. She starts to speak, and he’s pretty sure she’s going to ask him out, but then he catches sight of Troy standing behind her, staring at his feet. Abed tells Courtney he’s sorry, but he has to go right now. She slips him a piece of paper with her phone number, and he puts it in his pocket.

He asks Troy if he wants to go somewhere else, and Troy nods. They head to the study room, which is dark and empty.

* * *

They sit down in their usual chairs in the study room, and Troy is anxious and confused, and he’s not even totally sure why. He doesn’t like the feeling. He realizes he’s staring down at his lap, and he looks up. Abed is watching him, face blank.

“Have you ever slept with anyone in the group?” Troy asks, before he can stop himself.

Abed’s eyes get wider for a split second, and then his face is blank again.

“You’re asking if I slept with Jeff,” Abed says. “Everyone else was in on the plot yesterday. They would have said something.”

“I guess I am,” Troy says. “Did you?”

“Yes,” Abed says. “Once.”

“And?”

“And what?” Abed asks, looking genuinely confused. “We slept together once. That’s it.”

“And you’re still friends? It’s not weird? You don’t want--”

“No,” Abed interrupts. “We don’t want anything more than that, and because of that, it was never weird. It was just a thing we did one time. That’s it.”

“How can you be sure, though?” Troy asks, and he knows he’s prying, but he can’t help it.

“Well, I did see him strip down to nothing during a pool game today,” Abed points out. “That pretty much confirmed it for me, actually. I can appreciate a good body as much as the next man, but...that’s as far as it goes.”

“What about me?” Troy blurts out, and then claps a hand over his mouth, and he can’t believe he just said that out loud, he doesn’t even know where that _came_ from. 

Now Abed’s eyes are wide, and they’re not going back to normal. Troy’s not sure he’s ever seen this much emotion on Abed’s face before.

“What _about_ you?” Abed says softly.

“You hooked up with Jeff,” Troy says, completely giving up on whatever filter he once had between his thoughts and his mouth. “Why...why didn’t you ever ask _me?”_

“Well, first of all, I didn’t ask Jeff,” Abed says. “He asked me.”

“Okay,” Troy says. “But what about later? After you were with him? Didn’t you ever wonder…”

Abed closes his eyes. “I wondered all the time.” His voice is strange. Removed, and halted, and hesitant. “That’s...that’s why I never asked you.”

“What do you mean?” Troy asks desperately. “What do you mean, that’s why?”

“I didn’t want that with you, Troy,” Abed says. “I didn’t want what I had with Jeff, or with all the people in that notebook. I never wanted that with you.”

“You didn’t?” Troy can hear how small his own voice is. 

“I don’t want to be with you just once. I don’t want to sleep with you and have that be it. I...need more than that.” Abed’s voice is still very soft and getting softer. He's looking at Troy again. 

“More...than...that...?” Troy squeaks.

“I don’t want to hook up with you, Troy,” Abed says, sounding exhausted. “I want to _be with_ you.”

“How come you never told me?”

“I thought you were straight.” Abed shrugs.

“And you don’t anymore?” Troy prods.

“If you were, I doubt you would have been quite so quick to demand to know the reason I never hooked up with you,” Abed says, a little less softly and with a slight smirk on his face.

“I, uh,” says Troy. “I don’t really know _what_ I am. But...I do know that I’ve been jealous. All day. Of Jenny Adams, and all those other people. And before today, too. I want to be with you. And I want to be the only one who gets to be with you.”

“Good,” Abed says. 

“I don’t have as much experience as you,” Troy adds worriedly.

“I don’t care about that,” Abed says. “And anyway, the only reason I only got together with some of those people was as a way to distract myself from my feelings for you.”

“Oh,” Troy breathes. “Wow."

“Hey, do you think the group will leave me alone now?” Abed asks.

“Doubtful,” Troy says, and scrunches his nose. 

“Yeah,” Abed agrees wistfully. He scoots closer to Troy. “Can we kiss now?”

_“I thought you'd never ask.”_


End file.
